Plenty of lesson plans that I use as backup with my IELTS class can be found at the site www.englishevolve.co.uk
I don't think that it is neccessary to adjust materials much in order to teach these people. In most cases can be very appropriate for a group to talk about topics that we may assume are 'sensitive'. A great deal of patience and understanding is needed when we discuss their personal situations but we should not shy away from this either. In most examinations, students will be required to give this information, and it's better that they are prepared for these kinds of questions.

Context always counts, but sometimes the driving force behind the micro-specialization of materials seems to be the promotion of particular materials - by government agencies or textbook publishers. Our students have far more interests and many more concerns than the usual "sensitive" curriculum acknowledges.

Like you, I also welcome dynamic classroom discussions. I also - again like you - found it both desirable and necessary to create my own materials while running an adult education center for refugees from the former Soviet Union and Iran. Eventually, I collected some of those lessons - and expanded them - into an ESL conversation textbook called Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics. You can find some free conversation lessons at http://www.compellingconversations.com/

It's vital to remember that what unites us is far greater than what divides us!

I really appreciate the advice of a long term teacher of refugees! Currently, I am at a school with a 45% population of ELLs. At this particular Elementary School there is not a high population of refugees. However, at the other Elementary School (in the same district) there is a significantly higher population of refugees. I do not have a lot of teaching experience and I have been wondering what I could do to better prepare myself for this particular aspect of ESL teaching. Thanks for the websites and the advice to not shy away from topics of discussion that may be considered "sensitive."